Reza Garakani was born with achondroplasia, a hereditary form of dwarfism, and by age 14 was only 40 inches (101.6 cm) tall. He could not reach doorknobs, faucets, and elevator buttons, and he yearned to grow so that he could lead a normal life. His goal--reaching 4 feet 4 inches (132.1 cm)-- would enable him to drive a car.

In April 1988, Reza began a brutally painful treatment that would literally stretch his frame--bone lengthening. He had heard about 12-year-old Anthony Terravachio, who had begun treatment in August 1985. In his legs the tibias had been stretched 7 inches (17.8 cm) and the femurs 5 inches (12.7 cm), and work was ongoing on his arms, which had already been stretched 6 inches (15.2 cm). I can fit my hands into my pockets now! Anthony had said excitedly on a television program. So Reza bravely underwent the procedure. The outer shells of compact bone in his legs were fractured, leaving the blood vessels and marrow undisturbed. Then pins were inserted so that they projected from the broken bone ends, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. That was the easy part. After the surgery, Reza's mother would turn screws attached to the pins four times a day, moving the pieces of bone apart 0.039 inches (1/4 mm) each time. The separated area between the pieces would fill in with bone tissue and calcify.

It hurt terribly, but it was worth it, Reza says. For by September--just 6 months after the surgery--his thigh bones had grown 3 1/2 inches (8.9cm) and his leg bones 7 inches (17.8cm).